The present invention relates to an eye liner or eye-related cosmetic applicator for use by individuals doing their own eye make-up or even for use by one person (whether a professional or not) on the eyes of another. Thus the present invention relates to a cosmetic make-up applicator, primarily and preferably for eye-liner but the same invention can also be used for purposes of filling in eyebrows and sculpting the same, all in the personal cosmetics and beauty field. The device is intended to be pencil-like in its ease of handling, size, and application of eye liner to the wearer's water line, eye lid, eye brow and skin. The preferred embodiment is meant to be inexpensive to manufacturer and thus inexpensive to purchase and can be provided with color and specific applicator tip options, to the benefit of the manufacturer and the consumer. Thus, the consumer can purchase, for example, a single device having two application tip ends each supplied by separate eye liner or eye brow material reservoirs or containers, with each end of the single handle having the same or a different container of eye liner or eye brow filler and applicator tip. Each make-up container with an application tip can provide the same or a different color as one another, can have at the two ends a different applicator contact mechanism or the same as one another e.g., a brush on one end and a pencil-making fine line on the other; a fine line and a thicker or medium line; a small brush and a larger brush; a roller ball and a small brush; larger roller ball and smaller roller ball; etc. and, as each end is provided with liquid or conventional composition material from the container, as it is used up or spent, the consumer can replace that container, or that brush, tip, or skin/eye applicator or tip member, with a new container having the same or a different color, applicator, etc. This results in great flexibility for the manufacturer, the retail store and the consumer.
The present invention is an eye liner and/or cosmetic eye application device with two containers for holding a reservoir of eye liner or eye brow filler and each container having a working tip or an eye liner eye brow applicator contact end. In the preferred embodiment, the tips or skin contacting ends are secured to the distal ends of the cylindrical containers containing eye liner or eye brow (hereinafter for ease of reading and comprehension, the specification may read as “eye liner” but it is clearly understood that the invention extends to and includes eye brow filler, too) material. In the preferred embodiment, the containers and/or the skin contact ends (brushes, roller balls, fine-line pen-like tips, pencil tips, etc.) are selectively securable to the opposed or outward ends of a single central handle. The handle is about four fingers in width so that a user can easily and accurately hold the same with a thumb on the opposed side and thus accurately use the contact tip near to the eye or on the eye brow. The skin-contacting tips are preferably covered with a cap, in one embodiment by a smudging member, a small, angled, piece of foam (or any soft material, including natural and artificial material such as polyester, cotton, plastic, etc.) which allows and facilitates the after-application smudging of the first “pass” of eye liner on or around the eye or eye brow. The smudging cap can blend the eye liner or eye brow filler in and around the eye and more smoothly transition the eye cosmetic color and its points of application to the other skin tone or make up in or around the eye. The smudging cap, like a shaped, triangular, preferably cylindrical or pyrimidical cone or oval in cross section; square, rectangular or even irregular shaped) sponge, serves, when placed over the applicator's contact end (brush, roller ball, fine tip, etc.) to substantially block further liquid or cosmetic eye liner material from inadvertently oozing out of the container onto surfaces where that application is not desired, e.g., one's purse, blouse, etc. In another embodiment, the smudging tip or cap is itself covered over by a second or protective cap, the second cap being frictionally held over the smudge cap and, yet, easily removed by the fingers. Preferably, the second cap is frictionally held to the device over the smudge cap and both caps can be removed together as one—or the outside or second cap first removed to expose the smudge cap and then it can be removed for exposing the primary eye liner or eye brow applicator (brush, roller ball, or pen-like tip).
In the preferred embodiment, the handle is cylindrical and defines a longitudinal axis passing through and down its center line. In the preferred embodiment the handle is cylindrical but other shapes and cross sections can be used. The containers or reservoirs for the cosmetics are secured to the outer ends of the handle, preferably by male and female mechanical connections, i.e., the ends of the handle could be provided with internal screw threads and one end of the container provided with male, external and mating screw threads to the female internal screw threads so that the containers or eye liner holding or eye brow cosmetic-holding vessels are easily screwed into and held to the ends of the handle and replaced as and when desired. Alternatively, the containers are integral with the handle, not removable, so that the entire device can be discarded when desired. In one embodiment of the device the longitudinal axis passing through the handle and the longitudinal axis of the attached containers define a sharp and obtuse angle. In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal axis of the handle and that of the containers is a sharp obtuse angle but the connections define smooth curves.
In the preferred embodiment, the tips of the two ends of the eye liner and/or eye brow applicator are directed in opposed directions from one another and at angles to the handle. In the preferred embodiment, one of the tips of the applicator is angled upwardly from the handle and the other end angled downwardly. This is intended to provide ease of use, precision in application, decreased mess, and ease of handling. Indeed, in the preferred embodiment the device resembles an abstract “S” shape as a consequence of the working tips of the cosmetic, the eye liner and eye brow applicators, extending at angles to the central handle and in opposite directions from the handle.